| brendude13 said: Thanks for the replies guys. I have a Sapphire HD 5770 Vapor-X and an OCZ Stealth Xtreme 500w PSU. I also have an OCZ Agility 3 60gb SSD. I don't really have any particular aims in terms of performance, I know the 5770 can hand Crysis 2 and Battlefield 3 on high with 30 fps, I'm cool with that. I chose the Ripjaw RAM before and had it in my basket, but I realised the motherboard mentioned only speeds of 1333mhz, so I thought I'd downgrade. Where did you find out it didn't have USB 3.0? It said that on some review websites but the motherboard description says it has it and it's also a revised model. I know I'm cutting corners on the motherboard, but I'm not going to overclock and I'm going to be sticking with this build for a while, plus Asus seems to be a very trusted brand. Thanks again for the replies guys, I'm already bummed that I'm spending this much money, I need to make sure I'm spending it right. |
Yo Brendude :) long time no see.
Thought id share my thoughts on this...here goes. Since you wont be dabbling in some overclocking you really dont need a aftermarket CPU cooler. While the stock intel cpu coolers are shitty, this will only effect you if you plan to OC. And even then a stock intel cpu cooler will get you some extra mhz, i managed to push my Q9400 2.66ghz to a semi-stable 3.2ghz with a stock intel cpu cooler 
. So save yourself the money on the cooler and rather pump more money on a core component,like the mobo.
The mobo is really the most important component when it comes to future proofing, while everything else can be upgraded in the future should your mobo support it with minimum hassle. For example if you want to add another gpu to your rig in the future, and your mobo doesnt support SLI then not only will you need to get the additional gpu but you will also need a mobo that supports sli etc. Im not saying that mobo you have listed doesnt support sli but i think you get the point im trying to make.
Bottom line: Go all out on the mobo! Especially if you not a regular upgrader.
The one exception to this would be that upgrading your cpu in the future would usually require a new mobo as well...irrespective of how much you invest in the mobo in the present. If you can shoot for a i7 then DOOOO ITTT!!!! 
